How Contractors Should Collect Deposits

A deposit exists to solve a specific cash flow problem: materials and scheduling often need to be committed to before a job starts, but revenue doesn't land until the job is billed. A deposit collected at acceptance closes that gap.

Set the deposit on the quote, not after

Deposit terms agreed to as part of the quote — before the customer signs off — are far less likely to be disputed than a deposit request that shows up separately after the fact. It should be a visible line in the quote's payment structure, not a surprise.

Invoice it the moment the quote is accepted

The gap between "customer accepts the quote" and "deposit invoice goes out" should be as close to zero as possible. Every day of delay is a day materials might get ordered before the deposit is actually collected.

Tie it to the milestone structure

• Deposit — due at acceptance, before materials are ordered
• Progress payment — due partway through the job, often after materials/labor are substantially complete
• Final balance — due at completion or walkthrough

In KinetiqBilling, deposit and milestone terms live on the quote itself, so as soon as it's accepted, the deposit invoice can be sent immediately — with progress and final balance invoices following the same structure as the job moves forward.